


Crocker Cafe

by ribbitpiano



Series: Havenset [5]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Baking, F/F, Fluff, Nonbinary Dave Strider, Nonbinary Roxy Lalonde, Other, Romance, lesbians at the cafe again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22990930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ribbitpiano/pseuds/ribbitpiano
Summary: Your name is ROXY, and today, you're going to go and see Jane's cafe. It's been a while, and you're looking forward to it!
Relationships: Jane Crocker/Roxy Lalonde
Series: Havenset [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1640572
Kudos: 14





	Crocker Cafe

Jane yawns and stretches her arms. You’re laying in bed beside her, looking at your phone, trying to delay the inevitability of getting up. 

JANE: Good morning, Roxy.   
ROXY: mornin janey  


Your name is Roxy Crocker. You really would like to stay in bed, but Jane’s already getting up. Her schedule is a lot more demanding than yours, and you know she has to be at the cafe early, as she always does. You roll over, facing her, and wrap your arms around her in an effort to prevent the inevitable. 

ROXY: stay hereeeeee  
JANE: I have to get up, you know that.  
ROXY: yeah but   
ROXY: youre warm  
ROXY: the world is cold   
JANE: It’s actually pretty nice out today!  
ROXY: thats not what i mean janeyyy  
JANE: I know. I’m sorry Roxy.   


You don’t want to get out of bed, but what you really don’t want is to be without your wife for the day. Couldn’t you just... go with? She owns the cafe, so she makes the rules and can decide if that’s allowed. Couldn’t you just go with? Some kind of “take your lonely married partner to work day”? 

ROXY: what if   
ROXY: get this   
ROXY: i come with u  
ROXY: 2 work  
JANE: Hmm.   
JANE: You’re being serious, I take it.  
ROXY: yea  
ROXY: you make the rules   
JANE: That I do.   
JANE: Why not? We can bake something.  
JANE: It’ll be swell!  
ROXY: hell yea janey youre the best  


You give Jane a kiss and spring out of bed, energized by the idea of joining your wife at work, and by the prospect of unknowable caffeine intake that must be accessible in a cafe. You put on a binder, a black button up shirt, and some jeans, looking just a bit like the kind of hipster you’d expect to find frequenting the very cafe you’ll be working in. Jane puts on a shirt and khaki pants, tucking her shirt into her pants like some sort of gay business owner. The two of you leave the house, with all of Jane’s supplies at the cafe already, and it being just a short walk from your house. 

ROXY: its been way too long since ive like  
ROXY: been inside here lol  
JANE: Yeah, it has!  
JANE: You should visit more often, there’s lots I could show you!  
ROXY: well im doin it now  
JANE: You’re making it happen?   
ROXY: u know it b   
JANE: Hoo hoo!   


The two of you continue your pleasant but tired morning walk and shortly arrive at Cafe Crocker. It’s not the most humble name, but you can’t blame your wife for wanting to take credit for something like this, she’s done a wonderful job of getting this place off the ground and continuing to run it, and she’s quite well known for her baked goods by now. She unlocks the old, rustic looking door, and opens it with a small ding from the bell. The cafe is built to look like old Earth architecture, even though it’s not much more than a few years old. Something about an old storefront of wood and glass is very conducive to the cafe environment, and it sets Cafe Crocker apart from the usual locations with their modern facades. 

ROXY: so this is like   
ROXY: the place  
JANE: This is the place!  
JANE: What do you think? I can’t remember how much it might’ve changed since last time you were in here.  
ROXY: its pretty epic  
ROXY: i dig the uhhh   
ROXY: coffee stuff  
JANE: There’s definitely coffee stuff!   
JANE: Here, let me show you around. :B  


Jane takes you by the hand and leads you behind the counter, showing you each machine and a basic idea of what it does. It seems like they really do every part of the coffee making and baking processes here, and it’s really admirable how much Jane and Jake must put into this every day. Speaking of Jake, he’s not here today. Maybe he’s sick or something. Regardless, Jane takes you into the back of the store and shows you the baking zone or whatever it’s called. It’s the place with the flour and the ovens. She brings you back to the counter front and gestures for you to sit down at a nearby table. 

JANE: Well, we’re not going to get anything done without a bit of fuel, hm?  
ROXY: uhhhhh depends  
JANE: I’m saying we should have coffee.  
ROXY: oh epic   
ROXY: or uhh   
ROXY: idk whats business speak for epic  
JANE: Well, there’s no one else here, you can say as you’d like.  
ROXY: yeah but i gotta be prepared u know  
ROXY: i dont wanna drop an epic on a customer  
JANE: Fair enough.   
JANE: I think the usual term would be “lovely” or something similar?  
ROXY: yeah coffee sounds lovely janey  
JANE: Hoo hoo hoo!  
JANE: It’s funny to hear you say things like that.  


Jane pours two cups of coffee using a variety of machines you don’t understand. The whirring noises stop, and Jane sets down a saucer with a cup of coffee on it in front of you. It smells delicious, but you can recognize that it’s much too hot to drink yet. You take a small sip, and predictably burn your tongue. Nonetheless, you’re pretty sure it tastes good. Jane shows equal parts compassion and amusement with your surprise from the coffee being hot, as if to say “what did you expect?” And she’s right, of course. You blow on your coffee to cool it down, while Jane just lets hers cool down normally. Your phone dings, notifying you of a message. It’s probably somebody asking you about gender again, since you’re pretty much the gender wizard at this point. 

ROXY: can i check that lmao  
JANE: Of course!  


You pull out your phone and open discord. It’s a message from Olly. 

TG: hey  
TG: hey   
TG: sup   
TG: im actually at the cafe with janey today   
TG: oh rad  
TG: did u need some gender   
TG: nah i have plenty  
TG: just lookin to talk   
TG: do ppl only message you for gender stuff now  
TG: well   
TG: not exclusively  
TG: but a lot  
TG: sad  
TG: anyways im not gonna keep you on your phone on your wife date day  
TG: just come here  
TG: what  
TG: to the cafe  
TG: yeah but like outside  
TG: yes its outside  
TG: its fine come over here  
TG: ok ill be over in a couple hours  
TG: its not that far  
TG: yeah but   
TG: karkats asleep on me rn   
TG: say no more   
TG: c u l8r  
TG: later vriska   
TG: ehehe  


That’s a bunch to unpack. Since when does Olly laugh? You can’t even touch on the Vriska bit. Your face undoubtedly goes a little red at the Vriska joke, and Jane picks up on it. She laughs a little, and asks who that was. You answer, just Olly being a little teasing, which Jane raises an eyebrow to but doesn’t press. You suppose it’s not too unexpected for Jane to be surprised, Olly’s changed quite a bit recently, for the better. They’re much more open and seem to act how they want to rather than how they think they should, it’s refreshing. 

ROXY: its like   
ROXY: were at a cafe havin a date  
ROXY: except the cafe is yours  
JANE: What’s mine is yours, dear.  
ROXY: right right the cafe is ours  
ROXY: still wild tho  
JANE: Well, I think it’s kind of nice.  
JANE: I always like to see romantic groups of people enjoy their time here.   
JANE: Turns out, it’s not too hard to be happy when you have a cup of coffee and a handsome partner.  
ROXY: ikr   
ROXY: here i am i got a cup of coffee and i got u   
ROXY: youre totally right  


You smile teasingly, and Jane smiles back at you knowingly. The two of you have been married for a few years now, and she’s got your sense of humour nailed down. You finish your coffee, and Jane’s already done the same. She offers to take your cup back to the sink, and brings hers over as well. The cups and saucers are placed in the sink, and Jane walks back over towards your table, leaning delicately on the nearby countertop. 

JANE: So.  
ROXY: so   
JANE: Baking.  
ROXY: oh hell yea  


Jane nods her head in the direction of the kitchen, gesturing for you to stand up. You do as you’re implicitly told, tucking your chair back under the table in a professional manner. You’re making a significant effort to be professional, really, since this is a real workplace you’re at. Although, it’s only a real workplace in theory, since there are no customers nor employees. At the moment, it feels more like a second home of sorts than a workplace. Still, overreadiness is better than being underprepared, and a customer could arrive at any minute, as far as you know. You follow Jane to the kitchen once again, and she hands you a black apron, embroidered with a red “CC” logo. You quickly put it on, tying it behind your back. It looks pretty good on you, if you do say so. Jane’s wearing a similar apron, though hers is white, and she gestures to the countertop. 

JANE: So, what are we baking, Mx. Crocker?  
ROXY: uhh   
ROXY: thats a good question mrs crocker  
ROXY: what are we baking   
JANE: Hoo hoo!  
JANE: Well it’s up to you!  
JANE: I get to decide what to bake every other day, so today you should decide. :B  
ROXY: uhhhhhhhh  
ROXY: whats ez   
JANE: Well, it depends if that’s just an excuse to make chocolate chip cookies.   
ROXY: it is  
JANE: Then I would say chocolate chip cookies are pretty easy to make!  
JANE: Hoo hoo hoo!   
ROXY: hoo hoo   
ROXY: alright how do we get this bitch on the road  


And so, Jane leads you through the steps of making chocolate chip cookies. They’re really not that hard to make, and you’re fairly sure you could’ve done much of it on your own, but it’s a very nice time with your wife, and there’s nothing you’d change about it. You don’t trust yourself to crack an egg, and let Jane do that part, but when it comes to adding chocolate chips, you know exactly what you’re doing. You add what may be considered “too much” in one’s eyes, but you know your art is perfect. The two of you form the cookie dough into small rounds and place them on a large sheet, before putting that sheet into the oven. 

ROXY: wow thats not that hard  
ROXY: i could do this all day  
JANE: Except for the eggs.  
ROXY: except the eggs yea   
JANE: And the mixing?  
ROXY: i could have done that   
ROXY: u wanted to help   
JANE: Whatever you say, dear.   


You both wordlessly relax, the baking taking a fair bit more out of you than expected, and wait. Unfortunately, no matter how good you are at baking, you can’t overcome time itself, unless you’re Aradia, then you could likely find a way, though maybe not. The god tier powers are inconsistent at best, and gone at worst now that you’ve won Sburb. Most of you have just completely stopped trying to use them, and you’re pretty sure that some people have outright forgotten. Before you can delve too far into your decades-ago repressed memories of temporal fuckery, you hear the door’s chime ring. Jane walks out to man the front counter and you follow her, expecting to see your first customer of the day. Instead of a customer, however, walks in Olly and their now signature yellow hoodie. 

ROXY: hey  
OLLY: hey!   
OLLY: long time no see you two  
OLLY: and by that i mean i have glasses now so its like the first time actually seeing at all  
JANE: Well it’s nice for us to see you too!  
ROXY: yea its been a bit   
ROXY: hows the gender going  
OLLY: still there   
ROXY: thats good right  
OLLY: yeah its uh   
OLLY: poggers   
JANE: Not the poggers again!  
OLLY: its always poggers jane  
ROXY: well thats good 2 hear  
ROXY: cmon sit down or whatever   
ROXY: idk i dont work here  
JANE: Yes, Olly, please come sit.   


They do, sitting down at a table near the storefront window. They look quite different from last time you saw them in a few ways, most noticeably their glasses. They’ve stopped wearing what once were their signature sunglasses, the ones they were never seen without, and are now wearing a round pair of normal glasses. Their hair is a bit longer, and swoops out like yours does, and of course they’re now never caught without their bright yellow sweater. It’s really what you’d call a glow up, they seem much more themselves rather than a character of irony, though the poggers has stayed consistent. 

JANE: Olly, would you like something to drink, or maybe some lunch? It’s about that time anyways.  
OLLY: oh uhh   
OLLY: yeah a coffee would be great please  
JANE: Are you going to skip lunch?   
ROXY: im sure karkats got somethin ready 2 microwave lol   
OLLY: lmao   
OLLY: if yall are offering i mean  
OLLY: what kinda guest would i be if i said no  
JANE: That’s the spirit!   


Jane goes back behind the counter to take the cookies out of the oven and to prepare lunch for the three of you, and you pull up a chair and sit at the table with Olly. You can always use a bit of one on one time, you and them are basically siblings and it’s important that you have a good, supportive relationship. 

ROXY: howve u been  
OLLY: not bad really  
OLLY: everyones really accepting  
OLLY: finally feel like i belong ig   
ROXY: thats good   
ROXY: you do belong btw  
OLLY: thanks  
OLLY: you too lol  
ROXY: epic   
ROXY: nice to have you here  
OLLY: yeah its a nice place   
OLLY: thanks for like  
OLLY: invitin me or whatever  
ROXY: no prob   


Jane comes back to the table and sets a large plate of sandwiches down, along with a coffee in front of Olly. The three of you enjoy the food, Jane’s unsurprisingly very skilled at this sort of thing. She’s been baking since before you had even met her, and that was over a decade ago, so her proficiency isn’t surprising, but it is surprising to you just how good bread can be. Olly appears to feel the same, finishing their food quickly and going back to drinking their coffee. You and Jane complete your meal before much longer as well, and sit back in your seats to rest a minute. 

JANE: So how have you been?  
OLLY: pretty cool   
JANE: You’re still with Karkat?  
OLLY: we only got together like last week but yeah  
JANE: LAST WEEK???  
JANE: You’ve been living together for ten years!  
ROXY: babe theyre gays   
OLLY: yea  
OLLY: uh   
OLLY: it was never official ig  
OLLY: but weve sorta like   
OLLY: retconned the past ten years to have us be together   
JANE: I see.   
OLLY: i think im gonna propose  


Damn, okay, this is a hell of a topic. It’s not like it’s that surprising, you kinda thought they were already together and thinking about marriage, since they’ve been living together for so long. It’s not like a few of your friends haven’t already got married, not to mention you and Jane, so it’s sort of been on everyone’s mind lately. 

ROXY: woah  
JANE: Wow!!!  
JANE: Good for you!  
OLLY: thanks   
OLLY: do yall think its like   
OLLY: a good idea  
ROXY: well ud know best   
JANE: I think you two are very close.   
JANE: You’ve been cohabiting for a very long time, and I’m sure they feel strongly towards you.  
OLLY: i mean   
OLLY: i think they think we were dating for like  
OLLY: the whole time?   
ROXY: omfg  
ROXY: you took things slow 4 ten years  
ROXY: now is the time 2 go fast  
ROXY: if ur comfy w it  
OLLY: yeah  
OLLY: gotcha  
OLLY: ill think about it  
JANE: Please take your time. These kinds of things shouldn’t be rushed!   
OLLY: thanks ecto step mom   


You remember that you had made cookies earlier, and tug on Jane’s sleeve, pointing at the kitchen and not-so-subtly implying she should bring out cookies for your guest. You’d go and get them yourself, but you don’t know how anything back there works, and frankly you don’t want to mess anything up. Your wife stands up and walks to the kitchen, bringing back a large plate with warm chocolate chip cookies piled high. She places it on the table and sits once more, and the three of you enjoy the fruits of your (mostly Jane’s) labour. The cookies are better than you could have expected, though again, that’s mostly credit to your wife. You can’t quite polish off the plate, but you make a sizeable dent in the cookie stash, and figure you can sell the rest, or just bring them home. 

OLLY: so uhh   
OLLY: its great here but i should probably go home   
OLLY: karkats prob waiting for me hehe   
JANE: Hoo hoo hoo!  
JANE: Very true, but it was nice to have you here!  
OLLY: yeah nice to be here  
OLLY: maybe next time ill come visit when yr actually open   
JANE: Sounds like a plan!   


Olly stands up from the table and tucks their chair in. They wave at you and your wife as they exit the door and the bell rings once again. 

ROXY: u didnt tell me the cafe wasnt open today   
JANE: The lack of other people didn’t tip you off?   
ROXY: lol   
ROXY: ur right  
ROXY: the cookies were good tho   
JANE: They were!  
JANE: It’s been a nice day today. :B  
ROXY: yea it has   
JANE: Want to go home?   
ROXY: right yea i guess if the place isnt open  
ROXY: we can just leave  
ROXY: lets do it but   
ROXY: dont forget the cookies  
JANE: I wouldn’t think of it!   


Jane takes your hand in hers, as the two of you sit at the table. Just a bit more here couldn’t hurt, although you were looking forward to being home, laying on the couch, and doing nothing for a while. Plus, you had another dozen cookies to eat, and a wife to hold, so maybe it’d be best to get up from the table now. 

ROXY: i love u janey   
JANE: I love you too, Roxy!   
ROXY: lets go home  


**Author's Note:**

> i ran out of color names to call these fics so they'll probably just be whatever i come up with from here on out, the next one might take a while since i'm trying not to get burned out but i'll keep putting these out! hope you enjoyed as usual, and feel free to leave feedback, it's highly appreciated


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